American Tap Room: Not worth it

Lobster Roll Sandwitch and fries with
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon beer

I finally got around to trying out American Tap Room on Highland Street for dinner, and since they have been open since for a while I figured all the kinks would be worked out. Sadly, I was disappointed throughout the night and concluded it isn't a worthy replacement for Sette Bello which used to accupy the space.

Despite the promise of a tasty dinner by the backlite glowing menu and salads with local Clarendon themed names, nothing I tried was worth the price. The crab spinach dip was difficult to eat and wasn't nearly creamy enough. The jerk chick spring rolls were ok, but not worth ordering again. The toasted lobster roll was cold, and the only thing decent was the Old Bay seasoned circular cut fries. Their beer selection was rather sparse, and our waitress was virtually unknowledgable of our menu.

At least the extra large leather chairs were comfortable. Sorry Tap Room, but I'm going to agree with Yelp and say you deserve two stars.

Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill

Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill opened up on 2424 Wilson Blvd a couple weeks ago above the existing Subway sandwich shop. Despite not having its rooftop on yet as its name implies, I was very impressed with the establishment. After trekking up a flight of stairs customers are greeted by a very tall ceiling, warm dark brown wood accents and more TVs than you can count.

The food is not cheap but good, as it strives to be a slightly more higher end restaurant and not a typical sports bar. their burger pictured here is $10 but includes shoe string fries and bacon if you desire.

Highly recommended as a nice happy hour venue to watch a game or a date night. Can't wait for the spring to arrive so I can try out the roof top deck!

Mad Fox in Falls Church

If you are a beer fan, you should head down Route 7 to try Mad Fox for happy hour or dinner. The new restaurant located in Falls Church welcomes you with its large stainless steel brewing tanks has an amble selection of home brewed beer, meade, and root beer.

The venue also offers pizzas that can rival Fireworks' pies. The soup of the day was mashed potato, which was very creamy and accented with chives and bacon bits.

The main draw is their tasty beer menu, of which there is a good selection and they offer a four glass beer sampler which was very popular. Pictured here is the Stir-About Oatmeal Stout and Ginger-Apricot Meade. I've never had meade before and imagined it as being the drink of sloppy and vicious vikings, but this wine like beverage was sweet and refreshing.

More Updates on Clarendon Center

Northern Virginia Magazine gave a brief write up of a few of the new restaurants coming to the now under construction Clarendon Center, as well as a few rumors of possible tenets. Thanks to Paul for the link. Here is my updated tally:

Restaurants:

• Burapa Thai Restaurant
• Circa
• Red Velvet Cupcakery
• Pete's New Haven APizza
• BGR Burger Joint
• Crumbs Bake Shop
  

Commercial:

• Members Cleaners
• Burke & Herbert Bank

Residential:

• Lyon Place

Rumors:

• Trader Joe's
• Hookah Lounge
• Mad Rose Tavern
• Matchbox Pizza

Clarendon Center coming December 2010

The massive Clarendon Center project has been rising out of the ground very quickly and is getting close to completion. Some of the tenants are claiming to open this December. Started over two years ago, the two tower project will change the Clarendon skyline and add lots of new venues and restaurants to the area, including:

Restaurants:

• Burapa Thai Restaurant
• Circa
• Red Velvet Cupcakery
• Pete's New Haven APizza
• BGR Burger Joint

Commercial:

• Members Cleaners
• Burke & Herbert Bank

Residential:

• Lyon Place

Rumor has it that Trader Joe's might be interested in one of the larger spaces. Crossing my fingers for that to be true!

Lyon Hall officially opens tonight

After much anticipation, Lyon Hall should be officially open to the public tonight. The high end and stylish restaurant has generated a good deal of buzz and I'm sure it will be packed this upcoming weekend.

It's in a good location, just two blocks directly south from Clarendon Metro station on North Highland Street. Being flanked by the Phoenix Condo tower, the Reserve Apartment tower, 7-11, and Moby Dicks, Lyon Hall brings some commercial diversity to this corner in Clarendon.

For a sneak peak into Lyon Hall before it opens, check out Arlnow.com's picture gallery here.

Clarendon restaurants RAMMY nominated

The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington announced nominees for its 2010 RAMMY awards, and there are several local venues represented:

• Liberty Tavern nominated for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year and chef Liam LaCivita for Rising Culinary Star of the Year
• EatBar nominated for Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year
• Eventide nominated for New Restaurant of the Year

Congrats and good luck on winning the awards on June 6.

Restaurant Week in Clarendon

Several local venues are participating in Restaurant Week:

• Restaurant 3
• Liberty Tavern
• Harry's Tap Room
• La Tasca
• Willow Bar
• Tallula

Harry’s Tap Room is also donating $5 to the DC Central Kitchen charity for every Restaurant Week dinner menu selected.

Winter 2010 Restaurant Week - January 11-17, 2010
Lunch: - $20.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Dinner: - $35.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Beverages, gratuity and tax are not included.

Click here for more participating local Washington DC and NoVA restaurants.

Restaurant Nora in Embassy Row

Due to word of mouth recommendations and great Yelp reviews, I was inspired to try a new restaurant in DC north of Dupont Circle. Restaurant Nora is a highly rated, high end, expensive and very impressive dinning experience in Embassy Row.

The food at Nora was top notch, and the meals were made more exciting by the fact that the venue is the first certified organic restaurant in the country. The back of the extensive and lavish menu details how the food only comes from animals that were not mistreated or feed steroids. I had the Grilled Grassfed Ribeye Steak which was amazing. The Handmade Potato Gnocchi & Sage Sausage made for a great appetizer.

Parking is limited around the area, but easier to get on the weekends due to most street restrictions being Monday thru Friday. Valet parking is also available at the restaurant.

Highly recommended for a classy and pricey night out!

Restaurant 3

The owners of Whitlow's on Wilson opened up their third restaurant last year, aptly named Restaurant 3.

This offers a more upscale restaurant and bar than Whitlow's, but still has an American styled menu. There are some interesting items there, including the Chicken and Waffles dinner entree, of which I had to try out of curiosity.

I liked the venue, and would recommend it as a night date dinner place alternative.

Brunch @ Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory is known for its large portion sizes, good service, and if being over-hyped and tacky.

But they also have a surprisingly rich Sunday only brunch menu. While most people are flocking to Whitlows and waiting for a table at their breakfast buffet, it is a nice change of pace to be seated immediately for brunch at Cheesecake.

Pictured is their Giant Belgian Waffle with all the optional toppings, which looked deliciously more like desert than breakfast.

Being Cheesecake Factory it is a little pricey, but i recommend it for a special treat brunch alternative.

New restaurants in Clarendon near Zoso

Several new restaurants appear to be opening soon just south of the main Clarendon strip.

Local resident Paul Moon was kind enough to pass along this tip and photos. The storefronts at the new Zoso Flats building at 1025 N. Fillmore Street are now advertising some up and coming restaurants. Two much-needed additions are coming to the neighborhood: American Flatbread (gourmet pizza) and Artisan Confections (high-art chocolatiers).

I'm happy to see that area becoming more populated with light commercial establishments, as there is not much there currently besides Kinder Haus Toys. That block went through some growing in the past few years as Zoso was turned from condos into apartments, and I think these new restaurants moving in will help anchor that neighborhood a little more.

Thanks Paul!

Faccia Luna

Faccia Luna is a great unique restaurant on Wilson Blvd that I highly recommend. The upscale pizzeria features good Italian dishes and an intimate atmosphere, and has always gotten very nice reviews.

The venue actually had its beginnings in Pennsylvania, and currently has two locations there and two in Virginia. The story of how Faccia Luna came to be is interesting:

"Faccia Luna is a collaboration between two Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity brothers at Penn State, Bill McFadden and Joe Corey. Bill McFadden started the concept in Bellefonte, PA, where he introduced pizza to his then recently purchased restaurant, the Hofbrau House.

When Joe Corey approached Bill in 1988 to open a pizza restaurant in an urban, Washington, DC neighborhood, both were of the same mind in the desire to open a pizzeria that looked more like an urban trattoria than the tired old corner pizzeria with its ubiquitous red-checkered oil-clothed table and candle wax-covered Chianti bottles."

Flippin Pizza in Falls Church

A nice local find is Flippin Pizza that just opened recently in Falls Church. The cozy modern neighborhood pizzeria offers decent New York style slices. With deals like two slices and a drink for $5.50, its hard to pass up and a good alternative to Z-Pizza.

It is tucked away in the corner of the atrociously decorated "Flower Building" on Route 7 and very easy to miss. They don't deliver, but they have a call-ahead-and-pickup service available.

Local blogger Blueweeds did an excellent review of this pizzeria recently too. Its getting good reviews on Yelp too.